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State shuts down gambling operation in St. Cloud

Officials have shut down what appears to be an illegal gambling operation in St. Cloud.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division on Thursday shut down Triple Crown Sweepstakes. A search turned up what appeared to be video slot machines.

The investigation is ongoing, and a key piece will be to examine how the business operates, said Doug Neville, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety.

"On it's surface, when you go in there, I'm told there's devices that are slot machine-type devices within their business," Neville said. "It's our understanding that they've been opened for a short time."

The machines are illegal in Minnesota except when used in tribal casinos, Neville said.

The case will be turned over to the Stearns County Attorney's Office for any possible criminal charges.

Neville said the state was first tipped off to the illegal gambling operation in June and warned the business at that time that if it opened it would be violating the law.

"We recently received a complaint stating that they had been opened and so after beginning that investigation that all lead to the search warrant being served today and equipment from the business being confiscated," he said.